Ronnie O’Sullivan swears live on TV after being shown foul shot

Ronnie O’Sullivan has sensationally revealed he would play his English Open quarter-final tie all over again after he was shown a replay of a foul he made during the match – which he was not penalised for.

O’Sullivan is now just two matches away from successfully defending his English Open crown after beating China’s rookie professional Luo Honghao 5-3 on Friday.

But the five-times world champion was in deep shock after he was shown a reply of a foul he made during a crucial stage in the match which at the time he or the referee didn’t see.

The incident happened in the sixth frame when O’Sullivan potted a tricky red using the rest. As the ball enters the pocket O’Sullivan accidentally brushes another red ball with his cue while moving it and the rest away from the table.

At the time Eurosport commentator David Hendon alerted TV viewers to the ‘foul’ but nothing was given and O’Sullivan went on to win the frame.

Ronnie O’Sullivan. Picture by Monique Limbos

Speaking after the match, O’Sullivan swore on live television and said he would be happy to play the match again.

He said: “Oh no, s**t.”

TV presenter Andy Goldsten then came in to apologise to viewers for the bad language used, which prompted O’Sullivan to also apologise.

O’Sullivan then adds: “I didn’t even see that in a million of years full stop. Wow, wow.

“I’m happy to go and play the match again if they wanted to, you know what I mean, but no way in a million of years (I saw it).

“I wish David Hendon would have said something, that’s what they should do. They should have stopped the match, why hasn’t he done that?

Goldstein replies by saying: “I don’t think a commentator can stop a match.”

But O’Sullivan soon responded by saying: “You can, you can say ‘look there’s a foul there, call a halt to the game.”

O’Sullivan, who beat Kyren Wilson to win last year’s English Open final, will face Mark Davis tonight in a bid to reach the final. The other semi-final is between former world champion Stuart Bingham and Scotland’s Stephen Maguire.